I have been researching my family history
for some years and I think that the time has now come to share the information with other researchers who may be seeking the same families. The following pages show details of my family tree as it currently stands.
My Father’s ancestors were initially all located in the Calder Valley area of West
Yorkshire. From Sowerby Bridge through Mytholmroyd to Hebden Bridge,
Heptonstall and Todmorden.
As my research has
progressed it has become clear that the family became more mobile towards
the end of the 19th century, and in particular escaped over the border to
Lancashire! Not a long journey admittedly.
However what did come as
a great surprise was to find out that my
Grandfathers youngest brother had gone to Winnipeg in Canada in 1904 to find work,
returning in 1909 to get married and then taking his new bride back to Winnipeg
to start a new life and family in Canada. It was an even greater surprise to find
that a few years later his Father and Mother (my Great Grandparents)
followed him to Winnipeg where they lived out the rest of their lives.
Quite why a cotton
worker from Todmorden in West Yorkshire should choose Winnipeg as the
place to go is a mystery that may never be solved.
I have been able to make
contact with my Canadian cousins and so a new chapter in the family
history is beginning.
I have also established
the location of other cousins whose parents moved to Lancashire and again we
are now filling in a lot of lost history.
The main names I am researching are:- Clegg, Greenwood, Heap, Hardman,
Hudson,
and Walton.
My Mother originated in North Wales with her family roots
being in Anglesey, mainly Llansadwrn and Llanychymedd, although in the mid 1800’s
there was a movement to Bethesda in the Ogwen Valley, mainly to find employment in the
slate quarries. Filling in the details which are available through family
memories has been easy. Getting back behind
that detail is proving extremely
difficult. The family names are very common in that area and finding the
correct ancestors is a matter of luck more
than anything else.
The names I am seeking are:- Edwards, Jones, Owen, Owens and Thomas.
As more information becomes available
I will update the site and trust it will be of interest to other
researchers.
